Manish Puri has vast operational experience in the infrastructure sector. In his current job as managing director at India Infrastructure and Logistics Private Limited (IILPL) (APL IndiaLinx) and Director Domestic Business South Asia for APL Logistics, his tasks include overall business responsibility for profitability and performance as well as administrative and financial control of the business in India.
His experience spans railways, ports, terminals, and warehousing in addition to access to a vast network of logistics professionals and best practices in the business. Puri has 20 years of professional experience. He joined government service in 1989 as a member of the Indian Railway Traffic Service.
During his tenure with the government, he worked as the head of operations at the largest inland container depot (ICD) in Asia at Tughlakabad, and was later made responsible for setting up new ICD facilities for Concor. He joined the private sector in 2003 and has since served in senior management roles with international companies including P&O Ports, Transworld Dubai and Boxtrans Logistics.
Puri has also worked as a consultant in the area of logistics and infrastructure, advising the government and large Indian conglomerates on how to enhance the logistics backbone of the country.
“We need to come out of silos and work together. From the regulatory perspective there are issues like pricing and restrictions on certain commodities and terminals. The long-pending review of concession agreements would help us take stock of the issues that the stakeholders are facing. These issues lead to an increase in the cost of business and it is also making it difficult for businesses to take risk and grow,” he says.
Too modest to talk about his strengths, all he will agree to say is that he has a “strong understanding of the logistics market and a strategic outlook for growing the business”.
His management style is informal and inclusive. “I have spent a considerable amount of time in operations so I am calm and focused in crisis situations.” Puri has a master’s degree in economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. In his spare time, he likes to listen to music and spend quality time with family. “I am very fond of music and the arts. Spare time is spent with family, travelling, painting and in pursuing photography,” he says.